Roundabout amusement device



July 27, 1965 J. E. TIEMANW I 3,

ROUNDABOUT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G.l.FIGA, 3

INVENTOR. JAMES E- Tl EMAN W y. M? ATTORN EY July 27, 1965 J. E. TIEMANROUND ABOUT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. JAMES E. TIEMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,197,203ROUNDABQUT AMUSEWNT DEVICE James E. Tiernan, 548 S. Home SL, Mesa, Ariz.Filed Feb. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 260,973 1 Gains. (65. 272-33) This is aroundabout amusement device, being a continuation-in-part of myapplication Serial No. 239,246 filed November 21, 1962.

The object of the invention is to provide a portable roundabout,especially for use by teen agers and adults which comprises a platformwith rubber rollers, strategically positioned thereon, to support thefront or wheel end of the roundabout, the aft end of the latter beingswivelly supported by an upright carried by the platronn, suitable meansbeing suspended from the top, and complemental means carried by thebottom of the roundabout, for engagement with the hands and feet,respectively, of a roundabout passenger.

It is to be understood that although this invention is designedprimarily as an amusement device, it has been found useful as anexercising medium for the entire body. It is a simple expedient infurthering the national physical fitness program for both sexes.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description of thepresent preferred form of the invention, taken with the annexeddrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a roundabout amusement deviceconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational View of the same;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of theinvention, equipped with a pair of brakes, one of which ispassenger-operated;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the form of invention shown inFIG. 3, the hub assembly of the roundabout being shown in side elevationin association with the passenger-operated hand brake unit, togetherwith the independent non-passenger-operated brake entity;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the disk portion of the hub,brake band, stanchion and hand controlled screw shaft extended throughthe stanchion, the inner end of the screw shaft carrying a brake headshown in engagement with the disk of the hub assembly;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of another modified form of inventionwherein the platform is equipped with rollers upon which the wheel ofthe roundabout is rotatably mounted; 7,

PEG. 8 is a side elevational view of the same; 7

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the manner ofswivelly connecting the aft end of the roundabout to the platformstanchion;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10-40 of FIG.7, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing to advantage oneof the hand holds and the manner of connecting it to the wheel of thecar; and

FIG. 11 is a detailed fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on theline 1111 of FIG. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Basically, the invention here involved is approximately the same asshown in my application Serial No. 239,246. One of the principaldifferences is that the invention of the parent application is adaptedfor use on the ground or on a support, wherein the wheel or hoop portionof the passenger carrier comes in direct contact with the ground orother supporting surface. With the present improvement I provide anentity including a supporting base or platform equipped with a stanchionwhich supports the rotatable passenger-carrying medium in a manice nerto hold the wheel or hoop suspended above the platform or operable onrollers carried by the platform.

The assembly of the present invention includes a platform or supportingbase 20 equipped with a stanchion 21 which is preferably tubular andextends vertically a predetermined distance so that thepassenger-carrying medium 22 will be held in spaced relation to the topof the platform 20, as advantageously illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thestanchion 21 is braced by struts 23, the lower ends of which are securedto an intermediate part of the platform and are slanted rearwardly withtheir upper ends engaged with the stanchion, as indicated at 24. In thisform of the invention the passenger carrier 22 includes a hub unitgenerally designated 25 which is adapted for engagement with the upperend of the stanchion, as advantageously illustrated in FIG. 2. The unitis adapted for slidable mounting on a rod 26 serving as an axle for thehub, one end of the rod being formed to provide a head which abuts theouter periphery of the stanchion, as shown in FIG. 2. The opposite endof the rod is adapted for engagement by a nut 27 which is screw threadedon the rod and adapted for abutting engagement with the outercylindrical part 28 of the hub unit. The unit further embodies a disk 2?to which the inner ends of the supporting rods 30 are fixedly secured.The outer ends of the rods 30 are fixedly secured to the inner peripheryof the wheel or hoop portion 31 of the carrier 22. The disk 29 is boltedor otherwise secured to a hub flange 32 as indicated at 33. Thisprovides a suitable stabilizing arrangement to prevent casualdisplacement of the car on the stanchion.

The carrier 22 further includes hand holds 34 which may be trainedthrough loops 35 carried by the inner periphery of the wheel 31 as shownin FIG. 1. It is to be understood that these hand holds are to be of anydesired construction and adjustable to suit the convenience of thepassenger-operator of the carrier. Furthermore, suitable means 36 areprovided to embrace the feet of the passen ger-operator of the carrier.

The operation of this form of the invention is the same as illustratedin FIG. 1 of the drawing in my parent application Serial No. 239,246wherein the passenger-operator stands in the vertical position with thehands engaged with the hand holds 34 and the feet embraced by the means36 in such a manner that bodily movement of the operator is permitted toset the carrier in motion and to stop the carrier at the option of theoperator. V

In the form of invention illustrated in FIGS. 3-6 and 11, the carrier isequipped with a passenger-operated hand brake 37 and also with amulti-purpose brake entity generally designated 38. In this form ofinvention it is necessary to use a modified form of brake assembly,indicated at 25, which includes a brake drum 39 which carries a brakeband 46) in any suitable manner, the drum being secured to the stanchion21 by arms 41 which extend, at suitable intervals, from the innerperiphery of the drum to brackets 42 which issue upwardly from the topof the stanchion 21, as advantageously illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thehub assembly 25' includes a disk 29 which carries a hub unit 43including a bell crank lever 44 and brake shoe 45. The lever 44 ispivotally mounted on a bracket 46 which extends outwardly from one faceof the disk 29 as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. The end of the lever44, opposite to that which carries the brake shoe 45, is engaged by acable 47 which may extend forwardly along one of the rods 3% to amanually operated finger grip 48 pivotally mounted, as indicated at 49,adjacent the outer end of said rod 39 and in close proximity to thewheel or hoop 31' of the passenger carrier. The multi-purpose entity 3%is adapted to serve as a drag to control, when desired, the speed ofrotation of the passenger carrier; to bring rotation of the carrier to astop, by a non-passenger standing adjacent the aft end of the carrier;to lock the carrier from rotation when not in use; and to provide abrake entirely independent from the passengeroperated brake 43. Thisentity 33 comprises an elongated threaded shaft 50, one end of whichcarries a hand wheel 51 and the opposite end, a brake head 52. Thisshaft is threaded through a bearing 53 on the outer periphery of thestanchion 21.

As advantageously illustrated in FIG. 6, the shaft passes transverselythrough the stanchion 21' to permit the brake head 52 to be urged intoengagement with, and retracted from, the disk 29 of the hub assembly.Relatively light pressure on the disk causes the brake to act as a dragto slow down the rotation of the passenger carrier to an approximatespeed of rotation. When the brake head 52 is urged tightly against thedisk 29 under rotation of the hand wheel 51, rotation of the wheel maybe stopped whenever desired. This may become desirable in some instanceswhere the rotation cannot be stopped by the passenger due to somemechanical failure, or due to the ineapacitati'on of thepassenger-operator. It is to be observed that this braking entity isoperable for the intended uses even if the passenger-operated hand brakehas,

been rendered inoperative.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7-9, the platform 26and stanchion 21 remain the same as the form of invention shown in FIGS.1 and 2. The passenger medium 22 is also the same approximateconstruction, varying in the shape and size of the disk. The modifiedform of disk shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 is somewhat smaller and the rods30 of the passenger car are secured to the disk 29' as illustrated inFIG. 9. In this form of the invention, screw threaded stub shafts 54 areemployed. The unscrew threaded inner end of each stub shaft is fixedlysecured within its respective rod 30 by welding 55, or the like. Theouter end of each stub shaft is adapted for the reception of a nut 56.In this form of the invention, the stanchion is equipped with a fixedrestraining plate 57 and a removable restraining plate 58. Therestraining plates are adapted to receive therebetween the head of aneye bolt 59, the shaft of which latter provides an axle upon which thedisk 29' is rotatably mounted between restraining washers 66 and 61. TheWasher 60 is fixedly secured to the shaft of the eye bolt. The washer 61is removably secured to the shaft of the eye bolt in any suitablemanner. When desired, the passenger carrier may be detachably engagedwith, and detachably disengaged from, the shaft of the eye bolt 59 bythe simple expedient of disengaging the washer 61. The eye bolt 59 isslidably mounted over the top of the stanchion 21 until it contacts thefixed restraining plate 57. The restraining plate 53 is thensuperimposed over 4 v the eye end of the eye bolt and a cotter pin 62engaged through the stanchion above the plate 58 as shown in FIG. 9.

The form of invention as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a pair ofrubber rollers 63 elevated above the platform by supports 64 which maybe formed integral with, or fixedly secured to, the platform 20. Therollers 63 are positioned at the extreme forward end of the platform 29adjacent the lateral margins of the platform, as illustrated in FIGS. 7and 8. An additional pair of rollers 65 are also mounted on the topofthe platform approximately midway between the support 64. Theserollers are carried by supports 65 which hold the rollers elevated abovethe top of the platform but in a plane considerably below the plane ofthe rollers 63. The wheel or hoop 31 of the passenger carrier is adaptedto be mounted in the rollers 63 and 65 to support the wheel, yetpermitting facile rotation of the carrier under bodily movement of apassenger-operator engaged with hand holds 34 and with feet embracingmeans 36.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A roundabout amusement device including a platform, a stanchion carriedby the platform, an axle extending horizontally from the stanchion, apassenger-carrying means including a wheel with a hub sleeved over theaxle, passenger-engaging elements on the wheel to permit the passengerto be supported in a vertical osition while the wheel rotates on saidaxle, the said elements including a pair of spaced hand holds on onepart of the wheel and a pair of feet-engaging members on the wheel,remote from the hand holds, a pair ofrollers mounted on the platform andelevated above the latter adjacent the lateral margins of the platform,and a second pair of rollers mounted on the platform midway between theelevated rollers and ma plane below the latter, the passengercarryingwheel being in contact with all of said rollers to permit facilerotation of the wheel under movement of the passenger while the handsare engaged with the hand holds and the feet secured in saidfeet-engaging members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,521,946 1/25Hargreaves 272--33 X 1,660,139 2/28 Shellabarger 272-49 2,403,593 7/46Franklin 27249 X 2,467,338 4/49 Sellards 272-33 2,877,827 3/59 Anderson272-33 X RICHARD C. PINKHAM,Primary Examiner.

